1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a paper feed port and an image reading apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional paper feed ports that feed sheet-like media such as sheets of paper and conventional image reading apparatuses that read images on media fed from such paper feed ports have been disclosed. For example, Japanese Patent No. 2566650 discloses an image forming apparatus that has a manual conveyance path for conveying, from a direction orthogonal to a conveyance path of a main unit, a sheet material manually inserted from a manual port (a paper feed port) provided at the front of an apparatus. Further, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2002-68534 discloses an image forming apparatus in which a guiding member, which can press from above in an approximate full width direction a sheet of paper or an original to a portion where the sheet or the original is inserted into a main unit of the image forming apparatus, is provided protruded. Furthermore, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 10-7292 discloses a manual insertion guide provided with an upper guiding member facing a lower guiding member with a certain space from the lower guiding member that supports from underneath a manually inserted sheet of paper or original and being shaped so as to retreat backwards as both ends are approached from a front edge.
In the image forming apparatuses disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2566650 and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2002-68534 and the manual insertion guide disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 10-7292, for a case where a so-called corner curl is generated in an original for example, further improvements to be able to feed the original more infallibly and easily have been desired.